KOREAN CULTURE DICTIONARY 어서와! 한국 문화는 처음이지? (FROM KIMCHI TO K POP AND K DRAMA CLICHES. EVERYTHING AB

WoosungKang

저자:WoosungKang

엮음:EdwardLeary

PREFACE
HOWTOUSETHISBOOK
GETTOKNOWTHEFLAG
UNDERSTANDINGKOREANNAMES
THELANGUAGE
KIMCHI-THEKOREANSOULFOOD
YUGYO-THEIDEOLOGYOFTHEKOREANPEOPLE
WHATDOKOREANSEAT?
DININGINKOREA
DRINKINGINKOREA
WORKINGINKOREA
EDUCATIONINKOREA
FUNANDQUIRKYKOREANSUPERSTITIONSANDBELIEFS
SPOOKYKOREANSUPERSTITIONSANDBELIEFS
ODDQUESTIONSANDCOMPLIMENTS
DEATHANDAFTERLIFE
KOREANFUNERAL-HOWKOREANSSAYGOODBYE
JESA-REMEMBERINGANDHONORINGTHEANCESTORS
TYINGTHEKNOT-WEDDINGSINKOREA
SPECIALDAYSANDOFFICIALHOLIDAYSINKOREA
NEWYEARSDAYANDCHUSEOK
HANBOK-THETRADITIONALKOREANCLOTHES
THEKOREANLIFESTYLE
KOREANHISTORY-HIGHLIGHTSANDTIMELINE
KOREANWAR
LOSTINTRANSLATION
KOREAINTHEDIGITALERA
SPORTS
PLACESANDTHINGS
HALLYUTHEKOREANWAVE

강우성작가는뉴욕에서활동하며다양한한국문화홍보활동을펼쳤고,지난2016년‘대박’,‘아재개그’와같이외국인들이이해하기힘들어하는신조어와유행어를모아알기쉽게설명한‘케이팝딕셔너리’를선보이며외국인독자들의폭발적인반응을이끌어냈다.그후,‘글로벌한류열풍’으로인해한국에대한관심에급증하는것에비해한국문화를올바르고정확하게소개하는자료가절대적으로부족하다는점에문제의식을느꼈고,해결책마련을위해고심한끝에오랜동안매진한이번작품을내놓게되었다.외국인독자들의이해를돕기위해다양한사진자료와삽화는물론,QR코드를통해유튜브에서곧바로관련영상을시청할수있도록했고,반드시봐야할한국드라마나영화리스트또한구석구석집어넣은것을보면한국문화를조금이나마더제대로알리고자하는그의열정을느낄수있다.이와함께외국인들이한국에서생활하며겪었던재밌는에피소드를소개하며문화적유사성과차이점을설명,독자들의고개를끄덕이게만든다.기존의‘케이팝딕셔너리’가그러했듯,이번‘코리안컬쳐딕셔너리’또한기존에는없었던종류의책으로서,한국을알고자하는많은이들에게도움을주고한국문화를세계에알리는역할을충실히해내리라믿어의심치않는다.

Beforereadingthisbook,you’veprobablyhadmomentsofcuriosityaboutKoreanculture.

WhydoestheKoreanflaglooklikeithasaPepsilogo?WhydosomanyKoreankidssharethesamelastnames-Kim,Lee,andPark?Ifyou’reaK-Dramafanwhowatchesvarietyshowstoo,yourfascinationwithKoreamayhavegrownevendeeper.WhatdoesKoreaactuallymean?WhoarethepeopleonKoreanbanknotes?WhydoKoreanslovekimchisomuch-andwhywitheverything?

Koreansalsohavetheirownwayoffiguringeachotherout.Forgetsmalltalk;theyoftenaskyourageorevenbloodtype.(Yes,bloodtype!Somestillbelieveitrevealspersonality-TypeAperfectionists,TypeOeasygoing.)Andnowit’sallaboutMBTI-fromENFPtoISTJ,itcanevenhintatworkplaceordatingcompatibility.Youmightalsowonderwhyyousuddenlybecomeayear(ortwo)olderuponarrivinginKorea.Whyallthedramainstreettentbars(pojangmacha)?HowdoKoreansdrinksomuchsojufromthoseinfamousgreenbottles?And,ofcourse,the2020squestion:WhyisK-popsoinsanelypopular?
(Hint:it’snotjustBTS-NewJeans,StrayKids,LESSERAFIM,andawaveofglobalidolsareleadingthecharge.Andyes,whatdoes“GangnamStyle”evenmean?)

Ifyou’veseenSquidGameorParasite,youknowKoreanentertainmentisnotjustcatchy-it’sdeep,emotional,andbrutallyhonest.EvenanimationisjoiningthetrendwithshowslikeK-PopDemonHunters,blendingKoreanpopculturewithglobalstorytelling.

Whenyougetlostintranslation,adictionaryorappcanhelp-butculturalgapsaren’tthateasy.Youmightguessrightonce,butmissthewhybehindKorea’scustomsandbehaviors.Nomatterwhoyouare-aK-PoporK-Dramafan,anexpat,astudy-abroadstudent,orasecond-generationgyopo-younolongerneedtostaypuzzledbythequirksthatmakeKorea,well,Korea.

Thisbookcoversover350essentialtopicsandFAQs,organizedinto27categories,exploringKoreathroughtheFiveWs(Who,What,When,Where,Why)andHow.Bytheend,you’llunderstandKorea-fromhistoryandvaluestofood,slang,andmoderntrends.

You’llalsofinallyknowwhyKoreanssitonthefloor,whypouringwithonehandisrude,andwhyK-Dramas’hiddencuesmakesomuchsense.Afterreading,dramas,movies,andK-Poplyricswillfeelcompletelydifferent-andyou’llspottheclichesbeforetheyhappen!

NexttimeyouhangoutwithaKoreanfriend,youcancasuallyimpressthem-likeexplainingwhypeopletaptheneckofasojubottleorwhytoturnawaywhendrinkingwithelders.Andifsomeonesaysyouhavea“smallface,”you’llknowtoproudlyreply:“Thankyou!”

Now,let’sstartwithaperfectfirstexampleofKoreanculture-thefamous“PpaliPpali”(빨리빨리)mindset.Hurryupandstartreading!